Tuesday, 10 March 2015

Budget 2015: The Final, Fateful Act of the Quad

"Given his penchant for political theatre, Osborne might offer something
completely fresh, in a final bid to frame the political debate in the
run-up to polling day"

Yes, they got that right, those shrewd Grauniad commentators. Osborne will have been thinking about how to use this opportunity for at least four years, and we know he'll be trying for something dramatic. At the very least a power-play, another of the 'rolling barrage' initiatives: and in truth what he really wants is an outright game-changer. Something creative, unexpected, headline-grabbing, agenda-setting, initiative-grabbing, Balls-bothering, Mili-mithering, voter-pleasing ... just up George's street, or so we are led to believe.Of coure these things often don't come off: Gordon Brown was forever trying the same trick and he fell flat several times, and flat-on-his-face more than once.And Osborne's Big Budget opportunity comes with a twist, namely the need to have it approved by Clegg + Alexander in one of those 'quad' meetings they have. Had the LibDems been riding high(ish) this could have neutralised the potential quite substantially - why give an opponent a half-share in something clever? But as things stand, the junior partner that is trailing so badly will be just so grateful for anything they can get: so they can probably be steered into something that will suit Osborne's purposes fairly well. And he may not much mind them ending up on the same side of whatever devious dividing line he's hatching. Those final meetings of the famous foursome could be interesting.

So - all eyes on you again, matey. We're hard to please here at C@W, but shan't be slow to give credit - if it's due. There's glory to be had if you can square the quad and wow us all.

6 comments:

Jan
said...

I would abolish National Insurance and incorporate it into income tax. This would both please the LibDems, be in accord with the Tory tax-cutting agenda and would help the poorest more than raising the personal allowance again as the very poorest don't pay income tax at the moment anyway.

The chances of this are I would say absolutely zero as it's a bit too "vanilla". Most people would think their tax had gone up and wouldn't realise that overall they were probably paying less (unless of course you were in the very top-paid people who would undoubtedly be stung for more).

Flat income tax; everybody pays 15%, with no pesky allowances, thresholds or dodges, with the same rate levied on income of any type from pay to divis to capital gains. Think how easy it would be to do your tax return.

Thrown in the abolition of DECC, the Scottish Office, The Northern Ireland Office, Culture Media and Sport, Communities and Local Government, DFiD and most of the 766 quangos we have in this country and you have a better place to live in. As a bonus just think of the wailing and gnashing of teeth at the Guardian and Common Purpose (which should be a proscribed organisation, by the way).

I think you’re a little confused NickShrewd? Power play? outright game-changer. Something creative, unexpected, headline-grabbing, agenda-setting, initiative-grabbing, Balls-bothering, Mili-mithering, voter-pleasing ... just up George's street?While in this picture he may look a bit like Benedict Cumberbatch, he’s no Sherlock.He’s had four years to do something………..anything and what’s he done? I don’t think he’s been saving himself for a grand finale.

SL You barstuard, are you 44 by any chance. I'm just over your threshold and don't expect a sniff of a pay-out.

Jan/SB far too logical and fink of the poor accountants.

Curiously though. If he was to come out and say Ed Balls? are you seriously considering voting for that odious W"%ker who bankrupted the country in the first place? Just how many more people would vote for him.